In The Dust

Technology...

I know it is bound to happen.  I can't stand it.  I'm already lagging, and I don't want to be left in the dust.  But I try really hard to keep up with technology's evolution.  Not just the surface stuff, but the inner workings of computers, phones and other devices.  I follow the stock market and tech news feeds, I track what chips and parts Mac, Android and PC makers are using, and yes, it could be a full time job to keep up with the progression of technology.  Not that I think I need to do that, but I just dread the day when my kids have to tape the instructions on the back of a remote control for the TV to remind me how to use it.  The competition in this field is fierce, and that's just all the better for us, in my opinion.  Maybe it affects the price and keeps tech companies contesting each other and viable.  I'm not saying tech is cheap, because, and maybe it's just where I live, but I hardly think I get what I am paying for.  (improper use of a preposition at the end of a sentence, duly noted -- did I tell you my sister, the English teacher, gave me permission to write in my own voice?) 

There is a place for social media in all of this, but I'm not sure anyone knows what it is.  It means something different to everyone.  Where some people use it as an immediate place for discussion of an ending of a show or series, others realize that others have not watched it yet.  For instance, when a movie plot or TV series gets spoiled for me, it's a bummer.  Could be a different time zone, could be that I DVR'd it -- whatever the reason, I just avoid the computer or phone if it is something that really matters to me.  Like Miss America.  That one is kind of sacred.  Not Miss U.S.A., not Miss Universe, not Miss World -- Miss America.  The original.  Or the season finale for Mad Men.  And I know this makes me a heathen, but, Breaking Bad.  That show is crazy.

The realization of how technology driven our world is, came to me the other night when I sat down in the living room and saw no less than seven remote control devices sitting on the table beside me.  No duplicates!  And there is a drawer across the room for the duplicate ones, like the standard tv remote, which can be combined with both the satellite remote and the cable remote, so it is rarely needed.  These seven were ones that we use all the time!  There was the satellite, the cable, the Surround Sound, the DVD player, the Apple TV remote -- I don't even touch those other two, because I've told you I live with boys who just tell me to stay away from stuff that I don't understand.  That's why I can't lose my grip on technology.  Am I being shamed into learning and keeping up?  I'm not forced, but I am being influenced and feel compelled to keep up.  And that was just the living room!  Walk into any other room, and the challenge is the same.  Three in the bedrooms, two in the kitchen, four on the back porch, and the home theater -- I feel a sense of accomplishment if I can successfully turn the thing on.  There is even a screen with wi-fi on the elliptical machine.  Ridiculous, seriously.  But, hey, so far I can do it.  

engadget.com

gizmodo.com

techcrunch.com

technorati.com

wired.com

These are my favorite technology websites.  I'm on a quest to stay young and informed.  Just let me pretend, k?

In The Dust

Beyonce!

You know we saw Beyonce last weekend.  I have been at a loss for words because she is so talented and absolutely beautiful.  This is exactly what she looked like, and I'll bet there were 15 wardrobe changes.  

And that hair!  Oh my gosh.  She shook it every direction, and all I could think about was how nauseated I would be if I was moving all around like that.  Well, I probably could have done it when I was 31, like she is.  But to be singing, and dancing and moving like she does!?  Crazy good.

She needed this sparkly purple catsuit because she jumped on this large hook, and she flew to the other end of the arena onto a secondary stage.  After a few numbers down there, she flew back, and that was followed by dozens of glitter confetti cannons shooting off that engulfed the crowd with giant gold flakes.  There were so many spot lights, strobes, lasers and video screens, you couldn't have taken a decent picture if you would have wanted to -- plus, it was not allowed.  So I lifted these off of her website, but links are provided.

She's back.  She's no longer Sasha Fierce.  She took the break she needed, and it looks like she is touring until at least the end of this year.  The show was tremendous.  It was breathtaking.  She was splendid and remarkable.

Beyonce!

Sports Fan

You know I follow sports.  Whatever is on, I will watch.  Other than the obvious football, basketball, wrestling and soccer, I can watch golf, UFC matches, almost anything.  Once a year, I become a tennis fan.  Wimbledon is the ultimate tennis venue to me.  Everyone dresses up.  The fans are usually very respectful.  The players are always intense.  Even the towel and ball girls and guys give 150%.  It is continually an extremely classy event.

I missed most of the women's play, but it sounded like a hot mess.  All the top seeds were eliminated before the final rounds, and a 15 seed from France ended up beating a 23 seed from Germany to win the championship trophy.  *yawn*

Okay, well the men's championship match was quite a bit more exciting.  Seed #2, Andy Murray from the homeland, Great Britain, (I think he is Scottish), was up against #1 seed, Novak Djokovic of Serbia.  The Serbian had just won the semi-final on Friday in a record-setting 4 hour and 43 minute match to put him in the finals, but he was strong in today's final.  There were two rallies of almost 30 strokes, and in the over 3 hour match, with temperatures hovering around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, both players showed true grit and determination.  There were countless break points, and after Murray's appearance in the final last year, this turned out to be his year.  The British men haven't taken the Wimbledon title in 77 years, so the country rejoiced.  Murray was sophisticated and elegant as the winner, but the same could be said for Djokovic, who did win this tournament two years ago.  The Serbian was graceful and refined in his closing comments and commended his opponent with total respect.  It just makes you feel good.

This all just makes me want to grab a tennis racquet (British spelling) and go hit some balls.  But it's a little warm today, so I am opting for the pool.

-PS-  I did catch the highlights of the UFC fight last night.  Bam!  U.S.A.

Sports Fan

Out Of Town

Singing and Shopping... 

When doing a late night post, sometimes you forget interesting details about the day that don't come back to you until the next day.  One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was that when we got to the dueling piano place, they were carding everyone.  The ONE time I go out without a purse, phone or anything, and someone needs me to prove my age.  I needed to be at least 21.  Okay, really.  Really?  I could have been the guy's mom.  So I told him that.  I pleaded, I begged, a line was forming.  C'mon, bud, you can surely tell I am not under 21.  He hesitated.  A bit too long for my liking, but he finally agreed to let me in.  And it's a good thing, because all those youngsters didn't know the words to the songs.  We had to show them how it was done.  To be in a piano bar, you really have to have some years under your belt, because they don't play much off today's Top 40.  As I said, it's a good thing we were there.

Today the Mister continued to let me make the choices of where we were eating and what we were doing.  He trusts me like that.  We dropped in for lunch at Big Truck Tacos.  His first time, and I have been a few times.  One of the Taco Twins is from our little town; she was in my class and lived in my neighborhood.  I didn't know about her interest in food.  I remember her as a terrific tennis player.  She has made quite a name for herself as a chef and now with Big Truck Tacos and Mutts Amazing Hot Dogs.  Definitely two top Oklahoma City dining spots!

This was the next thing on my agenda.  No trip to any city bigger than my own is complete without at least a minor amount of shopping.  It's mandatory.  And I am a power shopper.  Always have been.  Raising boys, there was consistently a limited amount of time available for shopping.  You get in, decide what is needed, and you get out.  Move quickly, and don't buy more than you can comfortably carry.  A lightweight purse -- preferably cross body -- with non-essentials eliminated is best.  You need both hands free to maximize your effectiveness.  Someday, I'll dump my purse and show you what I carry for different days or different events.

We are singing along again tonight.  More later...

Out Of Town

4th of July

Happy Independence Day!

I had to write that because I saw a big electronic sign that had misspelled the word "independence."  Really?  That's just ridiculous.  I have a pretty low tolerance for incorrect grammar and spelling.  C'mon.  Especially when people do it over and over again.  Seriously.  Now for blog purposes, I am allowed to write in "my voice," thank you to my sister for explaining to me that it was okay to do that.

Well, I successfully pulled the farmer away from the farm.  I didn't know if he would actually come with or not, because the ultimate goal of the getaway to OKC was to see the Beyonce concert.  He is so unbelievably embarrassed.  He is convinced he will be the only man in the arena.  When I high fived the girl at the front desk in the hotel, he turned 50 shades of red.  He will get over it, and I swear he will be writing a positive blog post about it sometime in the future.  

For some reason, I got to choose where we would eat for the whole trip.  So I made reservations at some of my favorite spots, and when we got into town early enough for lunch, I was ecstatic to get to have my very favorite thing.  I am not being sarcastic when I say that I love Hooters.  No, really.  I eat there every chance I get.  There is always a plethora of sports, but those wings cannot be beat.  Not kidding.  The grease will probably be the death of me, but I don't even care.

Unless you try them, you won't believe me.  I am not a beer drinker.  I have no other reason to go to Hooters, other than I love the wings.  

So here we are in OKC, and we run into some close friends.  Crazy.  We met up after dinner, watched the fantastic fireworks show in Bricktown, and ended up at one of those dueling piano places.  Yes, I like to sing along.  Didn't say I was good at it.  Just saying it was a really fun time!

All in all, a great Independence Day!  And we still get to see Beyonce tomorrow!  Woo hoo -- put your hands up!  (music notes inserted here)

4th of July

Reality TV

I admit it.  I watch it.  It all started 100 years ago with Survivor.  Is that even still on TV?  Not saying I schedule my life around it, but I watch a certain amount of it;  maybe because there is nothing else on, and maybe because I have had an exhausting day.  For instance, maybe somebody made me do 200 crunches before I even knew I had completed such an amazing feat.  Well, reality TV is something you can mindlessly turn on, and you don't even need to know what has happened previously.  And I am the kind of person, who can get up and walk away in the middle of a show.  I am just weird like that.  I have left a movie, usually in my house, 10 minutes before the end, because I either know what is going to happen, or I don't care.  It has been determined that my "give a ****" levels are ridiculously low.

So, right now the Bachelorette season is in full swing.  I don't need to be surprised.  It is my opinion that a huge amount of the show is staged, and I have no problem going straight to Reality Steve to see who ends up the winner, if you can call them that.  Seriously, don't click that link if you don't want to know how it ends, because his track record is nearly infallible.  How do you "win" a fiancee?  Whatever.

And then I have been known to watch me some Kardashians.  It really is entertainment; the word reality isn't very accurate.  If that is reality, I live under a rock.  They live in a world that is unlike any other.  Whatever their actual lives are like, can you imagine having cameras follow you around, even for a couple of days?  Realistically, you know it isn't 24/7, but cameras in your face and in your biz -- ridiculous.  Why do I watch?  It's like a train wreck, you can't look away.  I actually can't blame it on boredom, because it's not like I don't have anything else to do.  I have a basement that is scary unorganized, and it needs lots of attention.  I have a closet that has 3 sizes of clothes,  and that probably requires a good purge.  But when I get home in the evening, and I am exhausted beyond the point of eating dinner, I just collapse on the couch and veg.  The Mister is in his busy season of farming, and early mornings and late nights are no stranger to me.  Lots of them.    

There is always pop news that interests me.  Did you know Robert Pattinson has been seen with Riley Keough, who is Elvis Presley's granddaughter?  Thank you, Wonderwall, the source of most of my celebrity information.  I never read or watched the vampire series, but for some reason I follow news that pertains to him.  He seems like a very decent guy.

Finally, there is a place for social media in today's society.  I'm not sure what it is, but it never ceases to amaze me what people will say to the whole world....  Deion Sanders is now officially divorced, and he took to Twitter to express his happiness.  Yikes.

Earworm

Sometimes I just wake up in the morning with a song in my head.  It wasn't the last thing I heard before I went to sleep, I don't think I heard it in a dream -- there is no explanation.  It's a real thing.  It's on wikipedia.  Since I am such a music buff, there is no telling where mine come from, but nearly everyday I wake up to a new one.  Weird.

Today it is "Love Somebody" by Maroon 5.  Maybe it's that somewhat cute Adam Levine, I don't know.  I mean, he's alright.  
You can't be a hater -- everybody makes remarks they regret.

Oops.  I almost posted the video of that song, but I had never seen it.  So I watched it, and uhm, no, I won't be posting it.  Kinda racy.  I never watch videos.  Back in the real MTV days, (that would be the 80's) they were different.  So I am content to listen and live in a happy place where I don't watch the videos.  Call me Pollyanna.